What is Barcelona’s Negreira case, and what could happen next?

UEFA said Thursday it had received substantial new documentation from Real Madrid and would assess it as part of its continuing investigation into Barcelona over the Negreira case.

Spanish sports daily AS reported that the submission ran to around 50,000 pages and included documents, evidence and statements.

Real Madrid urged UEFA to proceed with the investigation with the "utmost urgency," saying the material concerned events that directly affected the integrity of competitions and confidence in the refereeing system.

The submission follows comments by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez in May, when he said the club was gathering evidence for UEFA and alleged that Barcelona had "stolen seven league titles from me."

The development has renewed scrutiny of the millions of euros Barcelona paid to companies linked to a former senior Spanish refereeing official.

But what is the Negreira case, what offenses are being investigated and what consequences could Barcelona face?

- What is the Negreira case?

The case centers on more than €7.3 million ($8.6 million) that Barcelona paid between 2001 and 2018 to companies linked to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who served as vice president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees from 1993 to 2018.

In March 2023, Spanish prosecutors filed a complaint against Barcelona, former club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, former executives Oscar Grau and Albert Soler, and Negreira.

Prosecutors alleged that Barcelona maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with Negreira under which, in exchange for money, he would take steps intended to favor the club in referees' decisions and, consequently, competition results.

The allegations include corruption in the sporting sphere, unfair administration and falsification of commercial documents.

Barcelona acknowledges making the payments but denies wrongdoing, saying they covered legitimate technical reports and advice about referees.

A bribery allegation was later added, but a Barcelona court removed it after ruling that Negreira was not considered to be a public official, rendering the specific charge of bribery inapplicable under Spanish law.

The wider criminal investigation remains open.

- What is UEFA investigating?

Separate from the Spanish criminal proceedings, UEFA opened its own investigation in March 2023 into whether Barcelona violated European football's rules in connection with the payments.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin described the situation as "extremely serious" the following month, calling it one of the most serious cases he had encountered in football, saying that, under UEFA's jurisdiction, "nothing is time-barred."

Its Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors are examining whether the club was involved in conduct intended to arrange or influence match outcomes, which could breach UEFA's competition-integrity rules.

UEFA provisionally admitted Barcelona to its club competitions in July 2023 but reserved the right to make a later decision on the club's eligibility.

The investigation has remained open since 2023. UEFA's inspectors will now assess the new material submitted by Real Madrid as part of that continuing inquiry.

- What could happen to Barcelona?

The consequences depend on the separate Spanish and UEFA proceedings.

In Spain, the judicial investigation could lead to a criminal trial.

Convicted individuals could face prison terms, fines and professional disqualification, while Barcelona, as a legal entity, could face a substantial fine and other corporate sanctions.

UEFA's inquiry could have direct sporting consequences.

Barcelona could be declared ineligible for one season if UEFA concludes that the club was directly or indirectly involved in activity intended to arrange or influence a match outcome.

European football's governing body could also impose disciplinary sanctions, including fines and the withholding of competition revenue.

Any measure would depend on UEFA's findings and the rules it determines were breached.